In June, Information Technology Solutions (ITS) opened up the R’Mail platform to all of campus. The transition means staff — who have used Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Calendar — can now participate in the same email platform as faculty and students. 

Three months later, more than 550 UCR staff have transitioned to Google’s email and calendaring services, joining faculty and students on the same platform.

Historically, staff have used Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Calendar, while students and faculty utilize R’Mail tools. This presented challenges in the efficiency of interorganizational communication and collaboration, as Highlanders were using two different platforms.

The R’Mail migration effort is consistent with the campus’ strategic information technology goal of leveraging robust, common platforms that can support the unique needs of the academic and research mission in alignment with UCR’s strategic objectives.

"Campus leadership asked us why UCR is using two different platforms for email and calendaring. It was a good question, because we have the ability to unite the Highlander community on a single platform,” said Jeremy Fisher, Executive Director of Infrastructure for ITS. “This is what prompted us to open up R'Mail services, which are used by the majority of campus. The success of the opt-in period and positive feedback we've received have shown us that we're moving in the right direction."

Auxiliary Services, one of UCR’s largest organizational units, opted to migrate all of their staff to Google’s email and calendaring services at the same time. This made the transition much smoother for staff, as daily organizational communication and collaboration workflows were not interrupted.

Learn more about campus departments experiences in making the migration here.

More units are slated to migrate in the coming weeks, including the School of Public Policy, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Student Affairs, and Business & Financial Services. 

To ensure that UCR sustains its progress towards ascending to common platforms, the opt-in period will be ending soon to give way to the campus-wide rollout of R’Mail.

The early migration opt-in period will end in December 2024 and the launch of the campus-wide R’Mail rollout will be announced soon. ITS invites all interested organization leaders to get in touch with the R’Mail Services Team at rmailservices@ucr.edu by October 7, 2024, to schedule an early migration. Organizational units are encouraged to migrate all staff together for a more seamless user experience.

It is important to note that Microsoft productivity tools such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, and OneDrive will continue to remain available to those with Microsoft licenses. Typically, Microsoft licenses are procured through one’s departmental finance and administrative officer (FAO). Historical email and calendar data in Outlook will also remain intact and accessible via the Outlook web browser.

To learn more about R’Mail, including access, FAQs, and training resources, visit the R’Mail Migration webpage (UCR login required).